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VA - Two attorneys charged in 'torture session' attack on two other attorneys

The home invasion began, a Fairfax County prosecutor said Friday, with a man posing as a police officer knocking on the front door of a tony McLean home belonging to the managing partner of a prominent law firm.

When 61-year-old Leo Fisher answered Sunday evening, the man with a badge and gun Tasered him. Fisher crumpled into the fetal position, and the man slapped a pair of flexible handcuffs around his victim’s wrists. Then Fisher’s wife, Susan Duncan, came to the door, alarmed by the commotion. She was handcuffed, too, and shoved in a bathroom.

But the prosecutor said that this was no ordinary burglary — it was something more sordid: revenge. And that the alleged perpetrators were a pair of lawyers, one of whom was angry over her recent dismissal from Fisher’s Arlington County firm, Bean, Kinney & Korman.

The ordeal at the McLean home apparently lasted for several hours, the Post reported, with the Schmuhls arriving at the home at about 6:30 p.m. “It can only be described as a torture session,” Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Raymond F. Morrogh, told the newspaper.

Although Alecia reportedly stayed behind in the couple’s vehicle during the ordeal, NBC-4 reports that there is video footage showing her buying a Taser at a Northern Virginia gun store on the Friday prior to the attack...

The Schmuhls led police on a four-mile chase, with Alecia behind the wheel, through Springfield before pulling over Sunday night at about 10:30 p.m. during the massive manhunt for the couple, the Post reported. Andrew was reportedly wearing only a diaper when police pulled them over, NBC-4 reported.

A search warrant obtained by News4 on Wednesday reveals that Alecia Schmuhl, 30, rented the dark blue SUV on Nov. 8, a day after she purchased a Taser allegedly used in the attack. The Expedition has been seized by police. Detectives are asking for access to the SUV's GPS and any other documents in it that might indicated the couple's travel plans.

Two other search warrants seek DNA samples from both Andrew and Alecia Schmuhl. Police want to compare their DNA with the DNA on the bloody items found in the vehicle and their Springfield residence. As is customary, Buccal swabs will be used to take DNA samples from the inside of their mouths.

Prosecutors say Alecia Schmuhl remains a threat to the prominent 70-member Arlington Law firm that fired her, Bean Kinny and Korman. Prosecutors also revealed Monday that after she was released from another law firm several years ago, Alecia Schmuhl warned co-workers that they better "watch out" because her husband is ex-military and he "knows people"...

A preliminary hearing is set for next month. It's unclear yet whether the Schmuhls will be tried together or separately.

Andrew and Alecia Schmuhl, of Springfield, are accused of hatching a plot to take the couple hostage inside their McLean home in November in retaliation for Alecia Schmuhl's dismissal from the firm of Bean, Kinney & Korman. Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Raymond F. Morrogh said at an earlier hearing that the hours-long ordeal was so violent and harrowing that it was best described as a "torture session."

According to NBC4, Schmuhl’s attorneys told a Fairfax County Court judge that he plans to use an “involuntary intoxication” defense, meaning that Schmuhl committed the crimes while under the influence of medications.

Intoxication is considered “involuntary” if a defendant is forced or tricked into taking drugs or alcohol. Medication that a doctor has prescribed or administered may also be considered involuntary.

Frankly, if he didn't give a blood sample to test for intoxicants at the time of his arrest, how can he provide an affirmative defense now? You can have a doctor prescribe any # of medicines to you, fill the prescriptions, and still never take the med. Incredibly weak defense. IMO, he is better off to let the prosecution prove the elements of the crime and keep his mouth shut. I hope both of their law licenses are revoked.

"If you are lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it."
- John Irving in A Prayer for Owen Meany

Unless I provide a link or refer to a specific link, all my ramblings are theories, speculation, scenarios based on what info is available and my own unique life experiences.